Long Way Home (ZoroxNami)
by littlepeachything
Summary: After New Year of 1940 where wars had just broken out in Europe, a young woman from Texas was on her way to visit her aunt in New York. The train to her destination was delayed in D.C. due to bad weather. But such inconvenience allowed a young American soldier to catch the train he was going to miss.
1. Chapter 1

1.

The train to New York had been delayed for a few hours due to the snow now. Nami sighed quietly as she closed her book and looked at her watch for the hundredth time in the past hour. She looked out the window and stared directly at the bright white snow. Her thoughts started to wander. They've reached D.C. now, she thought, finally somewhere she felt close enough to her destination after having to be stuck on trains for days, but then now the snow...how unfortunate. She felt trapped in her seat. She wondered what the city of D.C. looked like. She almost wanted to hop off the train and maybe walk around the city in the snow, but a voice in the back of her mind kept telling her it was too risky. What about a new book? Maybe she could run to the nearest bookstore and still make it back to the train. Or just anything. Anything besides sitting there and reading the same book over and over.

"Uhhh… excuse me Ma'am, this is the 9:30 train to New York right?"

Nami blinked and turned her head towards the source of the voice—a rigid looking young man in his uniform. His face sharp and serious, skin brown and tough in contraction to his soft, bright green hair. He still had snow on him but did not seem to be bothered by it.

"Ugh… yea. Supposedly, but there's been a delay because of the snow... as you could tell."

"Yes. fortunately. I was going to miss this train." he said emotionlessly as he took off his hat, a good chunk of snow rolled off. "Is the seat next to you open? The train is exceptionally packed."

He sat down before Nami could even respond.

Normally, she would've been extremely bothered by his lack of manners, but right now, she was actually kind of glad to have someone to keep her accompanied in this forever lasting journey to New York, in one way or another.

But then she was wrong.

The young soldier hadn't made a single noise since he sat down. He sat in silence with his arms crossed on his chest, back straight, eyes closed and head slightly tilted to the right, showing absolutely no intention to engage in a conversation. Nami stole a quick glance at him and rolled her eyes, _how dreadful,_ she thought, _he's not going to say a word_. Then she went back to reading her book again.

An hour later, the snow had almost stopped. The train finally started again, continuing its slow way to New York.


	2. PSA

_**Hey Guys! Peach here! Thank you for the three of you who left me a comment! To be honest, I didn't expect to have any readers yet! I have made some adjustments to comments i think are critical and useful! Once again thank you for all your feedback! Please keep them coming ! they're very useful to making this story better!**_

_**Updates are lowkey random. Ideally, I'm hoping everyday, or once every two days. It really depends on my work load and creative flow! But once a week is promised. I'll keep up the work! **_

_**Chapter 2 will be posted Eastern time 8Pm tonight. Stay tuned!**_

_**PEACH 3**_


	3. Chapter 2

2.

**_Zoro found himself panting behind a rock with an M1918 BAR in his hands. He looked down and realized that he was covered in blood and mud. He heard gunshots going off in the background but was unable to tell which way they were coming from. He slowly stood up and looked around only to find dead bodies lying everywhere, some on top of others. He wasn't afraid, but he felt dizzy and numb. Before he realized, his body was moving. His legs straighter and stronger each step he took, his right arm swung swiftly along with his body and his left arm clenched tightly to the M1918 BAR. He couldn't see very far with all the dust in the air, so he looked up to the sky. The sun was almost red. All of a sudden, he heard a gunshot near him. The next thing he knew, he was shot in the stomach. But he didn't feel the pain, so he kept marching. Another gunshot went off, this time his chest. He kept marching, but he couldn't see. Then he was shot again, but he didn't even bother to look this time. Finally, he saw someone. He was short and skinny. He looked young and scared. Too young and too scared. His arms and legs shook uncontrollably as he held out the pistol with both hands. Zoro held up his M1918 and pulled the trigger quickly. Shit, it's fucking jammed again. He dropped the M1918 and looked at the frightened soldier furiously. He hurried towards him. Before the young soldier could even get his legs moving, Zoro jumped forward with all the strength in his body, grabbing the young soldier with him, flying off the to the edge of the cliff. His body was so light that he felt like he was flying, then he was shaking as if the whole world was shaking…_**

"Sir, are you alright?"

He opened his eyes.

"You were sweating a whole lot." Nami handed him a napkin, "I reckoned you might be having a bad dream."

He looked at her then the napkin. A small piece of pale orange fabric. It felt soft in his hand.

"I…Yes. Sort of." He said dully as he wiped the sweat off his face.

"That's 2 bucks. For the napkin."

"Huh?"

"The napkin I gave you. It's expensive."

Zoro stared stupidly at the orange haired woman next to him for a while and slowly handed her back the napkin, "I don't need it."

Nami watched the soldier and burst into laughter. "Don't give it to me after you've used it!" She was smiling more now, "I'm just teasing. No need to get all stiffed. Now, when did you get enlisted?"

"A while ago. I finished my basic training in D.C., I'm on leave before they station me in New York."

"That's nice, ain't that? New York." She blinked, "But the war?"

"What about it?"

"Everyone is talking about it. Do you think America will join eventually?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure." He felt more awake now, for a bit, things were blurry in his head. "It's not up to me what they decide."


	4. Chapter 3

3.

By the time the train reached New York, it had already been dark out.

They stood facing each other on the platform, slightly awkward, neither of them was making a noise.

Nami decided she would break the silence first. "So...I have to get going now. It's getting late."

"Where are you headed?"

"Queens."

"It's late. Let me walk you." He said as he grabbed her suitcase out of her hand.

New York had just snowed, and the air was cold. But it didn't seem to matter. The energy was still the same. Just as everyone's expectation, if not busier. The streets were still very lit up by all the lights coming from the stores, theatres, restaurants and bars, crowded by good looking people in fancy suits and gowns with the smell the of Martinis lingering in the cold air. They all looked a little drunk. This city seemed tipsy.

Nami didn't mind any of this. In fact, she was fascinated. She had never seen anything like this before, young people flirting, laughing, having fun out on the streets in such weather, at such time of day. Zoro was walking behind her, at a close enough distance where she could feel his presence without having to look back. But far enough that she felt comfortable.

They walked for a long time, then hopped on the bus, hopped off and walked some more. They did it all in silence, but occasionally, their eyes met, and each time they did, she smiled. She found herself in a good mood. With the tall buildings, the smell of the streets, the loud chattering and his presence, she was enjoying this cold walk.

"This is me." She said stopping outside an old apartment building painted in dark red.

"You sure?" He lifted his eyebrows and looked around briefly.

"17th Avenue." She pointed at the street sign, "I'm positive."

"Alright." He said a little unnaturally.

"Thank you for walking me back. Where are you staying?"

"I got this guy I met from training. He has a place here in Brooklyn, so I'm staying with him until I have to move into the base."

"Brooklyn. That's a bit of a way from here."

"I'll be alright." He said quietly, handing over her suitcase.

She looked up and her eyes matched his gaze immediately. He had been looking at her. Her cheeks felt hot. nervously, she looked away, then looked back. He was still watching.

"Alright...I'm going in now." She said, "Thank you for walking me again. You be safe too. Goodnight."

She smiled somewhat shyly before turning around and disappearing in the quiet street.


	5. Chapter 4

4.

She was woken up by the sunlight around 7 o'clock. The guest room she was staying at had a nice, small french window right next to her bed. Still half asleep, she squinted at the bright sunlight. From the room, she was looking directly at the park with a small lagoon right in the middle. _What a shame._ The lagoon had frozen by this time of year. _It would've been so much prettier with all the ducks and geese swimming on it._

Two gentle knock landed on her door.

she rolled over.

The door made a squeaky noise as it opened. A dark haired woman was now leaning against the door frame. "I had a feeling you would be up."

"Good morning, Robin." Nami said lazily, still crouched up in her blankets.

"Are you hungry, my little sleepy princess?"

"Maybe a little bit."

"Well, that's good, because I'm going to need your help." She winked.

Robin had sent Nami to get eggs and coffee from a market nearby while she stayed home to finish her research.

On the way out, Nami noticed a green haired man sitting with his back straight on the stairs way outside the apartment building. _There's no way._ She walked over and tapped gently on his shoulder.

"Mister?"

He opened his eyes.

"What in the god's name are you doing here?!"

He slowly moved his neck and shoulders around, "I got lost trying to go to Brooklyn last night. But somehow I ended back here."

"So you've been here the whole night? Have you lost your mind? It's freezing out!"

"It wasn't that terrible." He stood up slowly, feeling a headrush and the extreme tightness in his neck.

"Were you waiting for me?"

"You could say that."

"And the reason?"

"I need to get to Brooklyn."

"And you need my help?"

"If you would like to put it that way."

"Oh lord. Who are you?" Nami rolled her eyes at him but couldn't help grinning at the same time, "Alright. You owe me. Big time. This way, soldier."


	6. Chapter 5

5.

Zoro had left home almost two hours earlier than he was supposed to, knowing that he would need some time to figure his way out to the movie. But he was still late. Five minutes passed their promised time. He was getting a little anxious. He looked around, tried to squeeze something out of his memory, but the streets and stores looked as strange to him as they had been the first day. He hated it, but he knew he had to ask someone for help now, or he would never be able to attend their first formal date.

Him and Nami had gone for coffee and went to the market for Robin together for a few times now, but she said angrily one day that they weren't dates, and if he wasn't going to take her on a real date, she wasn't going to see him again. So here he was.

He reluctantly stopped an old man in a grey suit coat to ask for direction, his face wrinkled and tough. "Keep going straight. It should be on your left. You ain't far." He said quickly with a raspy voice, then hurried off.

_Straight_, he thought, _that should be easy_. He was almost ten minutes late now. He was walking fast and towards where all the noises were coming from. He could smell the perfume in the air, from all the young and beautiful women passing by. A few had run into him, somewhat purposely. Each time, the pretty girls would look at him flirtatiously then giggle as they walked away. Though he was oblivious to their intentions, he couldn't ignore the perfume as the strong smell was unnatural to his nose.

_Did Nami wear perfume like that?_ He couldn't recall for a moment.

Before he saw the big, bright neon light in front of the movie theatre, his eyes found her. She wore a long, dark brown coat dress that revealed only her ankles, covering the rest of her body tightly but still unable to hide her pretty curves, and a light brown beret that fitted her head perfectly with her bright orange hair lying lazily against her back. She looked very pretty, and a little annoyed. He could see that she was frowning, eyes wandering back and forth the street, checking her watch impatiently every two seconds.

He stopped walking and stood from a short distance. A girl like that waiting for him.

Zoro never paid too much attention to women compared to a lot of the guys from the army. Not that he wasn't interested, but that he believed he had better things to do than chasing after a woman's ass. Ironically, his lack of interest and of course, his good figure attracted quite a few. But then again, he was so hopelessly unromantic that their quiet negativism was often too confusing for him to understand.

Not that Nami had tolerated all how unromantic he was, but what was different about her was that she seemed to know how to deal with it. She was straight forward and eager enough to let him know what she wanted, to a point that he wouldn't expect. She was quirky, funny, opinionated, extremely bad tempered but easy to be around. Like someone he had known before. He didn't even realise that he never asked for her name until the second week he had known her. He said so stupidly as she drank her coffee across from him, "I don't think I know it yet...Your name." Looking away immediately, knowing she would soon be irritated.

She was vibrant and curious. She always asked a lot of questions. She asked him about the reason why he was hours late to his train. "I got lost" he simply responded. She asked him if he dyed his hair and why green out of so many other options. He said he didn't know and it was his natural hair color. She asked him about his family, if his parents had green hair as well. He told her he was an orphan. She was silent for a few seconds, then she asked him about the army. A lot about the army. How it was like, if it was harsh and why he joined…

He would watch as she talked. He couldn't help but notice how her eyes squinted into pale arches of moonlight when she smiled, how her dimples danced on her cheeks when she talked, and how she touched her ear nervously when she realised he had been watching her.

He had been over fifteen minutes late when her eyes found him standing from half a block away, staring at her.

"ZORO!" She yelled, waving her arms at him, jumping a little.

He drifted back abruptly and blinked. _Right, the date...and...shit, I'm really late._ He thought.


	7. Chapter 6

_**Hey guys! **_

**_I know it's been awhile since I last updated and I __apologise__ for the delay in updating._**

**_I've been really busy with school and training, and just life in general._**

**_But I really hope that you enjoye reading this chapter. It is prolly my favourite one to write so far._**

**_Thank you for all who have been supporting me and this story. Till the next update! _****_Enjoy!_**

**_Peach._**

6.

"Didn't you say you don't ever get drunk?!" Nami said angrily as she pulled his arm out and put it over her shoulders. He smelled like vodka.

They left the movie when it was only 30 minutes in. Nami decided that they would go do something fun instead, since the movie was boring her to death.

"Well I'm not." He smirked. "I'm most definitely not."

"Alright. Go walk a straight line then." She ducked a little to get loose from his arm, and stepped back.

"Woman."

"Go ahead, moss head. Im waiting."

He could see her with the conner of his eye and how she folded her arms on her chest, how she lifted her brows and waited to see him stumble without her help. He felt his nerves tensing up. He was nowhere close to being a patient person, but he had never been this easily triggered. She knew exactly how to piss him off, and challenge his manhood with the smallest things in life.

He stood there for a second then turned, his legs wobbled as he walked towards her. He grabbed her waist quickly before she could dodge and single handedly put her on his shoulder with her little face and arms dangling against his chest.

"HEY!" She screamed, "Put me down you savage!"

"You ready?"

"Ready what?" She started hitting him on the chest, "Let me go!"

Then he sprinted off. His legs felt faster and lighter than they usually did. His pace still unstable. She was still screaming and hitting his chest. But he didn't care. His arm tightly latched onto her tiny waist, feeling the warmth of her body. She smelled like wine.

It was already past midnight, on a weekday, exactly which they couldn't tell. But the streets were almost empty with only a few shadows scattered here and there. Nami lifted her head and stopped screaming. She glanced at Zoro, and he was smiling. Smirking to be accurate, raising only one corner of his mouth. She smiled, too. Then her smile broke into the crispiest laughters the night had ever heard.

They felt like two crazy teenagers running away from home, falling in love for the first time.

He ran all the way to the park near her apartment, and she laughed all the way there. They fell onto the cold grass and breathed loud and rapidly. They were lying right next to each other on their backs, looking at the starry sky with their arms touching.

"Cave man." she said.

"Mmhmm." He answered, still breathing heavily.

"Moss head."

"Yeah."

"Directions idiot."

"Woman."

"Stupid ass, broke ass soldier."

"You're getting pretty personal. Kitten." Gently, he said.

He turned to look at her. Her small nose curving up perfectly like a little horn. Her skin pale and thin under the moonlight. _She is so pretty_, he thought.

She turned, too, knowing he was looking. Her heart pounding by the rhythm of fluttering butterfly wings.

Their faces were so close that they could smell each other's breaths. Sweet and strong. So close that they could count each others' lashes. So close that she saw the green in his eyes for the first time, so dark that it looked black if you hadn't been this close.

He blinked twice before he kissed her.

So soft and gentle that she didn't realise at first, until the warmth spread slowly on her lips. She closed her eyes and kissed him back, tasting the sweet of vodka on his bottom lip softly.

They pulled away and looked at each other into the eyes.

She started smiling, her eyes arched into little streams of pale moonlight, her dimples danced on her cheeks. He put his hand on her pretty little face, his fingertips feeling her hair.

Then he smiled, too.


	8. Chapter 7

7.

"You look happy." Robin remarked from the couch.

"Hmm?" Nami said as she applied lipstick in front of the bathroom mirror, "Does this color look too bright for winter?"

"I think that looks really good on you, love." Robin smiled.

"Robin!" Nami skipped out of the bathroom and put her arms around Robin's shoulders and let out a bright grin. The smell of flowers from her aunt put her in an even better mood, "How do you always smell so good?"

"Thank you. Where are you and mister soldier going today?"

"The library." She landed a soft kiss on Robin's face before letting go of her, then went back to the bathroom to braid her hair.

"Oh he reads?"

"No. But I do."

"And him?"

"Naps? Look at pictures of weapons? I don't really know."

"Oh." Robin looked over and found her niece smiling in front of the mirror while braiding her own hair, humming to some broken melodies of a song, shaking out the soreness in her hands that she got from braiding. How cute.

Zoro was still complaining about how long she made him wait out in the cold when they got to the library.

"You waited a whole night outside of my apartment before. Why are you complaining about 20 minutes now?"

Then he couldn't come out with anything smarter to say anymore.

The library was quiet and warmer. The only thing you could hear were the noise of page flipping and occasional whispers every once in awhile. Nami had gathered a few books about Ocean geography and Meteorology while Zoro randomly grabbed one of collections of guns.

They sat quietly next to each other. He had no idea why he was here, or why he even agreed to come to the library. He flipped through his book and glanced at only the big pictures and titles, missing all the details.

He closed it after no time and decided he would pass some time by playing with Nami's hair. He picked up a small stroke and curl it around his finger gently then let go. He did it over and over. Until he stopped playing with her hair and started to touch her the back of her neck with his thumb. He slid it down and tapped along her back spine with the tips of his fingers. So soft that it gave her an itchy feeling.

"Stop it Zoro." She whispered. Trying to focus on her book.

"Mmhmm." He started at her neck. His hand still doing the same thing.

"Stop staring too."

"Mmhmm." Not moving his gaze.

"Read your book." she said.

"You're distracting me."

"I am?"

"You've been."

Nami felt blood rushing to her face. She turned her head, only for him to surprise her with a kiss. She was shook, and pulled away immediately.

"Jesus! It's the library!" She groaned under her breathe.

"So what, no one is watching."

He grabbed her face and landed another kiss on her lips. He pulled down her chin and his tongue slipped into her mouth smoothly. He savored the taste of her little tongue and bit softly on her bottom lip. His other hand seized her waist, his grasp harder and pulling her closer every second the kiss went on.

Before his hand moved anywhere else, they were kicked out of the library.

Under the sunset of New York, their two embarrassed faces looked ludicrously red.


	9. Chapter 8

8.

She looked up. The sky was a beautiful pale blue today, the sun shining incredibly bright compared to the past few days. It was a warm February day of New York. Maybe because March was around the corner, and this was a hint of the coming of Spring? Still no bird chirps, but the sun was good enough for Nami. She felt the warmth on her little cheeks and the tip of her nose. The weather was so nice, but not so much for Zoro's mood...It would've been a great day if this moss head soldier had not been so ridiculously stingy about letting out a smile. She thought.

He looked a little distracted. He eyes fixed on the lake and a thousand miles further, hardly ever blinking. He was mostly quiet as his body rocked back and forth slowly with the paddle of the small boat.

Nami didn't say anything for a long time, and just let the silence play its role. But she couldn't stop wondering what was wrong. After a long time of replaying memories of them being together in her head, and still unable to figure out if anything had gone wrong, she finally asked.

"Me?" He drifted back, "Nothing is wrong."

"Hm. sure." She turned her head and murmured.

Then it was silence again.

She let out a sigh after awhile, "Let's be done with this."

"Huh?"

"I said, LET'S BE DONE WITH THIS. For christ's sake Zoro." She said impatiently then put her chin on her hand. Not looking at him anymore.

As soon as they reached the edge of the lake, Nami jumped off the boat quietly, and started walking quickly. But Zoro showed no intention in catching up with her. He returned the boat and walked slowly behind her.

Nami agrily in the front, Zoro carelessly in the back. No one ever said anything. They walked like this the whole way back to Nami's apartment.

"Nami."

He finally called as she was about to disappear behind the red door to her apartment building.

"WHAT!"

He slowly came up after her. He grabbed her wrist gently. "I'm going back to training soon."

She blinked and cleared her throat. She knew it was coming. This whole time they were together, she knew he was going to have to leave. They never talked about it, but she knew. "When."

"3 days later."

"So soon?" She looked up, holding back an urge to yell.

"And I was thinking...maybe." He looked down, "Maybe we shouldn't be together anymore."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm just saying. This might be senseless."

"This what?!"

"Us."

"Do you hear yourself right now?"

"...Nami."

"Are you hearing yourself?!" Her throat felt tight. "Senseless...Is this some sort of playing house you play when you're bored and on vacation? Now that you got better shit to do you just…"

"I just think it will be better for the both of us..."

"Woah." She whispered. Strokes of tears were falling off from the side of her cheeks as she stared angrily at him. Her eyes writing all the emotions she was going through her head.

"No, Nami...that's not what I…Kitty, Listen…" Zoro was nervous now, he felt his heart beating fast, yet his brain not running fast enough to come up with the right things to say. He tried to grab her shoulders to calm her down but she pushed him away.

"Don't you Kitty me, don't you fucking dare!"

"Nami…"

"I don't want to listen to anything coming out of your mouth anymore." She turned to the door.

"Goodbye." She threw it out coldly before shutting the door.


End file.
